Aussie jewellers lead worldwide campaign

Posted May 24, 2010 |

The Australian jewellery industry is set to pioneer a worldwide campaign, partnering with the UN and CIBJO, to raise money for those living in extreme poverty.

The campaign “I give a damn. I give a gram” has a simple goal: For every jeweller to donate at least one gram of gold.

The money raised from donations will go to people living in extreme poverty in third world countries, and who contribute to the jewellery industry through production of precious metals, gems and diamonds.

The funding will go to UNESCO, a United Nations-backed organisation with aims of achieving peace and eradicating poverty.

The campaign is the brainchild of Ronnie Bauer, director of Bauer Gemmological Laboratories and Australia’s CIBJO (world jewellery confederation) representative.

He explained the reasoning behind his idea: “Every single jewellery store – whether it be a manufacturer or retailer – will have some gold sitting around somewhere. If they give just one gram of that scrap gold, we can fund the UNESCO project to help people who have nothing.

“We’re trying to direct some of the profit made at the retail end of the jewellery industry and give something back to the mining end in the third world,” he said.

The campaign already has the endorsement of the Jewellers Association of Australia after Bauer made a presentation to the JAA board last year. The concept was formally at a JAA Board meeting on May 17.

JAA CEO Ian Hadassin said he thought Bauer’s presentation was a “great idea” and he had the association’s “full support”.

“We’ll be promoting the campaign to all our members and asking every member to donate a gram,” he said.

The campaign is expected to launch in August, at the JAA International Jewellery Fair.

Jewellers will be informed about how to donate at a later date, once Hadassin works past the “legal issues” surrounding the JAA acting on behalf of UNESCO.

Bauer also revealed Australia will be leading the rest of the world with the campaign while CIBJO monitors the campaign’s success, with a view to taking it worldwide.

“Australia is trialling this. After we finish, we need to report back to the CIBJO congress in Copenhagen (in 2011) and then it will be exported to the world,” he said, adding, “I made a presentation at the CIBJO congress in Munich this year and received a standing ovation for the concept.”

CIBJO has a social responsibility program, developed with the help of the UN.

During a congress in 2007, the worldwide jewellery industry formally recognised “that the jewellery industry, as a member of the international business community, shares a responsibility toward the greater society in seeking practical solutions towards the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger.”

Addressing the congress, CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri stated: “Let the word go out from Cape Town that, while jewellery may described as a luxury product, the industry that produces it is an essential item — certainly when it comes to economic development. When consumers buy jewellery, they should know that not only is it an expression of value, beauty and emotion, but they have contributed to making a better life for people who need it most dearly.”

Bauer said although the campaign was entitled “I give a damn. I give a gram”, jewellers were encouraged to donate as much gold as possible.

“We’ll take more than a gram. We’ll take a kilogram if they want to,” he said with a smile.

Hadassin agreed: “A gram should be a minimum, they should donate as much as they can. It’s going to people who are less fortunate than the Australian jewellery industry. It’s still people who are in the jewellery industry, but in poorer countries.”

Anyone interested in being involved in the early stages of the campaign can contact the JAA via email at: info@jaa.com.au.

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